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25 November 2014

SingEx launches Last Mile Fulfilment Asia

Last Mile Fulfilment Asia (LMFAsia), an inaugural trade conference and exhibition named for its focus on the last-mile fulfilment aspects for the logistics and e-commerce industries, will take place in Singapore next year.

This is the first event of its kind focussing on last-mile fulfilment issues and opportunities within Asia, with about 1,500 trade attendees, delegates and exhibitors from the Asian region expected at the first edition, SingEx said. LMFAsia will bring together four key sectors – e-commerce, retail, logistics and parcel delivery – on one platform to maximise the business opportunities for e-commerce in Asia.

According to eMarketer, Asia Pacific will overtake North America as the world’s largest e-commerce market this year, with B2C e-commerce sales forecast to grow from US$383.9 million in 2013 to US$855.7 million by 2016. China, Indonesia and India will be the top three drivers of e-commerce growth in this region, with Southeast Asia poised to register strong growth as well. But while consumers are buying, logistics players, brand owners and retailers are struggling with technological and infrastructural constraints in last-mile fulfilment, as well as the higher fulfilment costs within Asia.

SingEx Exhibitions, a wholly-owned entity of Singapore-based SingEx Holdings, has launched LMFAsia to address this specific gap in the market today, providing a platform for all players within the fulfilment ecosystem to address the opportunities and challenges. It will bring together fulfilment centres, logistics companies, postal agencies, parcel courier companies and technology solution providers to meet with e-commerce companies and retailers to discuss and find solutions to the last mile challenges, forge new partnerships and uncover business opportunities in Asia.

Aloysius Arlando, CEO of SingEx Holdings, says, “Current events in the marketplace are addressing broader issues in the general logistics sector, thereby limiting the sources and platforms that e-commerce companies and retailers can go to for last mile fulfilment issues. SingEx is well-attuned to the impetus and needs of the Asian markets, and we saw this gap as an excellent opportunity to create an event that will provide a dedicated platform for the fulfilment ecosystem.”

Supporting this event as a Strategic Partner is EDB Singapore. Says Lee Eng Keat, EDB’s Director of Logistics and Natural Resources, “Keeping in mind the growth of e-commerce and the complexity of Asia’s fragmented trade and regulatory landscape, we are building up Singapore’s capabilities in e-commerce ranging from consumer insights to last mile fulfilment. LMFAsia will bring together thought leaders to exchange ideas on the issues and possible solutions for last mile fulfilment in Asia. The event will also allow brand owners to get a better understanding of how Singapore can help them connect to key markets and enhance their competitive edge in the burgeoning Asian market, especially Southeast Asia.”

“All business partners we are talking to have e-commerce as a top priority on their agenda. And they are all situated in different stages of development with variety of challenges and hurdles. With our global supply chain network and e-commerce know-how, we support our clients to address and master these challenges, hence being equipped for growth in this exciting market,” says Mitat Aydindag, Head of arvato SCM/eCommerce Asia, arvato Bertelsmann, which will be exhibiting in the event.

Daniel Chen, Business Development Director of D’Trans, also looks forward to the opportunity to network with key representatives from the fulfilment ecosystem across Asia, and to leverage this event to develop robust e-commerce solutions that will enable D’Trans to fulfil its delivery promise to its customers.

“D'Trans strives to deliver growth for all our clients through provision of a dedicated logistics services by offering reliable economical and safe transportation of our customers' documents or products to their desired destination right where they want. We look forward to engage with our clients and harness the logistics network which we will establish through LMFAsia's platform,” says Chen.

LMFAsia will be held on 19 and 20 March 2015 at MAX Atria @ Singapore EXPO. It will comprise a two-day conference and an exhibition, with business matching and networking sessions as key features of the event.